Jumio expands its AI labs into Montreal

Jumio, the Palo Alto CA-based creator of Netverify Trusted Identity as a Service (TIaaS), announced the launch of Jumio AI Labs in Montreal dedicated to the creation, experimentation, and at-scale deployment of machine learning and deep learning technologies. The new office will expand upon the innovation driven by Jumio’s Vienna-based AI team by building production models that perform three vital functions related to online identity verification: data extraction, fraud detection, and risk scoring. 

Jumio’s AI Labs are developing deep learning models to dramatically improve identity verification accuracy and verification speed. The team is led by Labhesh Patel, CTO and Chief Scientist at Jumio, who is expanding his team of machine learning engineers and AI specialists in Montreal to realize this important mission and maintain Jumio’s global leadership in AI-powered identity verification.

Artificial intelligence has already been productionalized to reduce the time it takes to verify an ID document or an online identity which, in turn, is helping Jumio’s customers reduce their abandonment rates and increase new account conversions. In fact, Jumio’s AI models have reduced the average customer transaction time by 7 percent, with more significant reductions planned for the fourth quarter.

“Because of Jumio’s scale and deep experience in ID and identity verification, we have amassed very large datasets that are being leveraged to develop highly predictive AI models,” said Mr. Patel. “Jumio’s AI Labs will build on this experience to further refine our supervised AI models, develop best practices, and continue as a platform of innovation.”

Major technology hub for AI

The choice of Montreal as the location of Jumio’s AI Labs was deliberate. In recent years, Montreal has emerged as a major technology hub for AI.  A major reason has been the work of Yoshua Bengio, a professor and researcher at the University of Montreal, a co-founder of Element AI (a company dedicated to advancing cutting-edge AI research), and widely considered one of the fathers of deep learning. This combined with a low cost of living and several large Montreal-based universities and academic institutions,  has led to a convergence of AI talent and research support in the city.

“Jumio’s creation of its AI Labs in Montreal and the investment in research around deep learning are both strong signals of the economic attractiveness of Montreal. This is the result of the city’s ongoing effort to promote a vibrant ecosystem of innovation,” said Hubert Bolduc, President and CEO of Montréal International, an organization dedicated to sparking economic development within Greater Montreal.

Online identity verification — an industry that is expected to grow to $20 billion by 2022 — is evolving as traditional methods of identity verification, such as knowledge-based authentication and two-factor authentication, have fallen out of favor. Jumio’s investment in AI Labs will enable the company to stay at the forefront by creating new models, algorithms, and best practices that will fuel the company’s growth and broader adoption of AI-powered identity verification.